Ultimate guide to save battery life on your Android phone [How to]

Both Android and mobile technology have progressed parallel to each other. Manufacturers release OTA updates from time to time for better Android experience. Google, under its AOSP project, releases newer Android versions every year. However, optimizing Android system for each and every device may become overwhelming at times. So it isn’t possible for most manufacturers to release stability, performance, or battery optimization updates for all Android devices. Even though fitting smartphones with larger batteries may not if Android system isn’t optimized. We have heard users complain about battery life many times and that the device turns off before ending the day. To avoid this, you will need to take extra precautions to get the most out of the battery as explained in the guide below.

Here is the only guide you will need to save battery life on your mobile phone. Once you follow the steps in the guide, you will see significant improvement in battery life on your smartphone.

Uninstall Battery saving apps

Have you ever wondered what’s common between all the battery saving or boosting apps? There are too many of them. This is because their function is very basic. To clear background running apps, which is just a temporary solution and does not help save battery.

Here’s how the battery saving/boosting apps save your battery life. All the app does is clear the apps that are currently running. This feature is actually inbuilt with all the Android systems and you don’t need an app to do the work for you. You can simply hold the home button and get the recent apps.

These Battery saving app makers also claim to automate the procedure of clearing the background running apps. However, this features comes pre-enabled in the newer Android versions like Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow, 7.0 Nougat or later.

Some of these apps will also get to extent of modifying or corruption the battery stats to show more battery percentage than the actual charge left on the phone. This can be done by tweaking the build.prop file. This will lead to your Android phone turning off before the battery percentage hits 5% or even 10%. So if you have root, then you should refrain from providing it administrator access.

Although there are still some apps that legitimately save battery live. However, there are very few of them and we have listed the only one you will ever need.

Uninstall bloatware apps like Clean Master

Clean Master is a cache cleaner, or umm, maybe more than that. It comes with numerous features and options you will never use. Here’s why you should uninstall it.

The reason why Clean Master or other such popular apps come with so many features and keep on adding more features with each update is to make you use the app all the time. The more you use their app, the more advertisements they can serve you. If you install and leave Clean Master to default settings, it will heavily bloat your phone. Meaning, it will install many useless features that you won’t ever need and take over your homescreen, lockscreen, notification panel, etc.

Consider Clean Master being only a cache cleaner. An average user would use the app only once or twice a week. This will hurt the app maker’s pocket.

Other such apps I have encountered are ES File Explorer and Battery saving apps. The ES file manager has many useful features. However, the app took a greedy turn and has lately turned bloat (too many useless features). You can find some good alternatives to it as well.

Again, these app maker companies would go to any extent to make you install their apps and make you use them frequently. They allure customers by promoting and marketing their app.

There are many alternatives to Clean Master and CCleaner is one of them. This is a popular tool from Piriform among Windows OS users. Another alternative is All in One Toolbox. Make sure you turn off all the useless features from settings.

Install Greenify – The only app you will need to save battery on your Android phone

Whenever someone asks me about the best battery saving app or complain about the battery drain on their smartphone, I recommend the Greenify. This is a one of a kind and the only app you will need. Greenify is very effective at saving battery life due to its unique approach in doing so. Greenify hibernates all the blacklisted apps and keeps them from running in the background all the time.

Usually, all the apps run in the background thus pushing updates and notifications from the apps like messages, news, games, social network etc. Once you put the apps into hibernation using Greenify, the apps will stop working until you open them again. Once you open the hibernated app, it will start working again and you will see all the notifications and content there.

However sometimes, apps like Facebook may get triggered out of hibernation when it’s called upon by other apps. A solution for this is to grant Greenify root access. The app works best with rooted devices. However, non-rooted users need not worry. The app will still work.

So download Greenify now and add all the non-important apps like the social network, shopping apps, etc. into hibernation. Also, make sure you hibernate the app every time you are done using it.

Greenify also helps in keeping you productive. You can configure it to get notified of only the most important updates like text messages, emails, SMS, video/audio calls, etc.

Uninstall or hibernate resource hungry apps like Facebook

Facebook is the most memory hungry app you will find on your phone. It continuously runs in the background and consumes a lot of battery without even showing it in your battery stats. The Facebook framework is too heavy. Many apps constantly call Facebook for connectivity. For instance, Tinder.

Similarly, go to Settings> Battery and check for the most resource hungry apps other than Android system or Android OS. Hibernate the most battery hungry apps like games, news, shopping apps, etc.

As an alternative, you can simply browse Facebook on your desktop. If you simply can’t live without Facebook then there is a lighter version of the social network named Facebook Lite.

Moreover, if your device is out of the supported date, then you can install a stable custom ROM like CyanogenMod or stock based custom ROMS specifically optimized for battery. There are some bloatware removal packages too that you can flash via TWRP recovery.

Enable Doze Mode or Aggressive Doze Mode

Doze Mode comes inbuilt and pre-enabled with Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow or later like Nougat. Usually, you don’t need to enable it. However, you will find this option in Settings>Developer Options>Doze Mode. Alternatively, go to Settings and do a quick search there for Doze mode from the top right search bar. Make sure you have already enabled Developer Options and Doze Mode as well.

Another option is Aggressive Doze Mode. This feature mainly comes with Android 7.0 Nougat or later. You can find this option in Settings>Battery>Tap on options on the top right corner. There you can enable each app you want to hibernate.

If you do not find this option anywhere then you can also enable it from the Greenify app listed above. ADM is experimental and may also cause some blacklisted apps to not function properly.

Make use of WiFi instead of Cellular Data

Cellular data can drain the battery quicker than you can imagine. If you are a regular cellular data users then you already know this. Streaming a bunch of videos on 3G or 4G will significantly drain the battery. However, this won’t happen if you are connected to WiFi. WiFi consumes less battery than cellular data.

Drag the notification panel down completely to get the quick settings options. Disable all the unused services like Bluetooth, NFC, Cellular Data, Hotspot, and even Location services (GPS) if possible. You can also use the Tasker or Trigger app to create tasks to enable or disable certain services at a particular time.

You may also want to consider turning off the Auto-Sync option as well. This option syncs all the data with the main Google account, Facebook, etc. However, this will stop your emails, and other notifications until you turn the option to on again. This is a tricky option. Do it only if you can turn it on from time to time.

Here are some tips and tricks for you to extend battery life on your Android phone

Do not keep your phone charging overnight. Fully charge and turn the power supply off.

Reboot your device once in a while. This will help you improve the battery span in a long run. Reboot once or twice a week.

Keep the Greenify hibernation shortcut on your home screen and when you are done using the phone, simply hit the hibernate option.

Clear recent apps more frequently than you usually do. When done using certain apps, clear the recent apps.

If your device has become old consider changing the battery.

Turn off notifications from apps you do not want to see. For instance, there are too many notifications from news app or shopping apps.

Uninstall or hibernate stock apps that you never use.

Use a limited number of widgets on your home screen.

Avoid using live wallpapers. They consume more battery.

That’s it. Hope you enjoyed the guide. Like, share, and follow us on social media. If you know any more battery saving tips, please comment down below.

One comment

Another silly article that actually does and says nothing new, and in the end using common sense would be the best solution.
Re-stating the obvious, is that your solution, it would seem so?
You are just re-iterating what has been said numerous times already, by many others more qualified than you.
If someone is having app problems, especially recently, wouldn’t common sense dictate removing recently installed apps, reverting recently made changes, start over?

Android is not for those that can’t use common sense trouble-shooting, and those that have no common sense should go back to Apple phones.